



Book 



Copyrights 



COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT: 



NATURE STORIES 



FROM 



DARWIN 



EDITED BY 

HENRY W. WILBUR 



PHILADELPHIA, PA. 

PUBLISHED BY WALTER H. JENKINS 

1912 






COPYRIGHTED IN 19f2 
BY HENRY W. WII.BUE 



: CU330Vi 



EDITOR'S PREFACE 

It has been our aim in the stories 
here given to in no way alter the 
body of fact or warrantable infer- 
ence as stated by the Great Natural- 
ist 

In some cases Mr. Darwin's own 
language is used, and this will be 
readily recognized in the text by 
the quotation marks which enclose 
a literal reproduction, 

The references at the bottom of 
the page indicate just where in Dar- 
w r in's books, the story in particular 
may be found. This has been done 
so that those who desire may read 
the scientist's statements in the 

3 



original, and follow up his claims 
and deductions which the story in 
particular illustrates. 

Darwin's scientific and literary 
habit was so marked in all that he 
did, that it is perfectly safe to al- 
ways infer that isolated stories are 
not used by him as mere proof texts, 
but simply as impressive illustra-r 
tions of traits and tendencies among 
our animal friends. His case, if he; 
has been trying to make one, has 
already been established by an ar- 
ray of scientific studies and deduc- 
tions, the story always being a side 
light, and not the main illumination 
of any statement made by him. 

The only object in this compila- 

4 



tion is to help develop respect and 
reverence for all life, and especially 
for those forms of life personified in 
those creatures which in our conceit 
we humans call the "lower animals/* 

HENRY W. WILBUR, 
Swarthmore, Pa s , 

November, 1913, 



BIOGRAPHICAL INTRODUCTION 
The Darwin family was descended 
from Robert of Eston, who was 
born in 1682, he being the father 
of Dr. Erasmus Darwin, the famous 
physician, poet and natural philoso- 
pher. While undoubtedly an ad- 
vanced thinker, it is quite likely 
that the religious and other radical- 
ism of Erasmus was greatly exag- 
gerated by the prejudice of the time 
in which he lived. 

The father of the naturalist, Rob- 
ert by name, and son of Erasmus, 
was also a physician, and attained 
considerable distinction in his pro- 
fession. His far more famous son 
6 



had great appreciation for his abil- 
ity, and reverence for his character. 
Charles Darwin, the naturalist, was 
born February 12, 1809. His father 
set his heart on Charles being a 
clergyman of the Church of Eng- 
land, but this desire was complete- 
ly frustrated when the young man 
went on the voyage around the 
world, as the naturalist on board His 
Majesty's Ship, the Beagle. Dar- 
win would probably have made his 
mark as a churchman had he tak- 
en "holy orders." After he had 
become famous, a German psycho- 
logical society solicited his photo- 
graph, and spent a whole evening 
studying and discussing the physi- 
7 



ognomy and phrenology involved in 
the picture. The conclusion reach- 
ed was that Darwin's "bump of ven- 
eration was developed enough for 
ten priests." 

One of the great naturalist's 
strong traits was his regard for ab- 
solute truthfulness. Any carelessness 
of statement in dealing with facts, 
greatly disturbed him, and he held 
himself to the same rigid standard 
which he applied to others. This 
regard for the unvarnished truth 
gave to all of his utterances much 
of their charm and value. 

A nature story from Darwin has 
behind it the guarantee of absolute 
reliability. The stories which he 

8 



used to illustrate his investiga- 
tions, contain none of the element 
of unwarranted exaggeration em- 
ployed by the "nature fakirs." 

Mr. Darwin, in an autobiograph- 
ical sketch prepared for his wife and 
children, divided his life and labors 
after his boyhood and his course at 
Cambridge into four periods. First, 
from the beginning of the voyage 
of the Beagle, in December, 1831, 
to October, 1836. This really rep- 
resented the time he was with this 
expedition, studying the fauna and 
flora of the world, and especially 
that of South America and the Pa- 
cific islands. The second period 
covered three years, and ended with 
9 



his marriage in January, 1839. The 
third period he made analogous with 
the residence of the Darwins in 
London, which lasted over four 
years. The last period relates to 
the time from the removal to Down, 
September 14, 1842, to the close of 
the biographical notes in 1876, six 
years before his death. 

It was during the first period that 
his habit of scientific research was 
formed. His reputation as a natur- 
alist was established when his first 
report regarding his work on the 
Beagle was published. His origin- 
al and unusually constructive work 
was accomplished during the fourth 
period. Exploiting the "develop- 

10 



ment theory," which made him the 
centre of biological and theological 
controversy for nearly a generation, 
had its intensification with the pub- 
lication of the "Origin of Species," 
in 1859, and its climax in the ap- 
pearance of the "Descent of Man," 
in 1874. 

It is not necessary to go into the 
details of these publications. They 
involved long labor and painstaking 
research. Darwin was a semi-inva- 
lid nearly all of his life, so that he 
was more or less hindered in his 
literary work. Few of his books 
were turned off at white heat, and 
most of them involved years in their 
preparation and revision. 

11 



In the stories herein given Dar- 
win stands revealed as a student of 
nature, and not as the originator 
and expounder of theories. He 
should also be taken as a very hu- 
man person, gentle in mind and 
manner; sensitive to pain and suffer- 
ing to a remarkable extent, and re- 
garding living things with the ado- 
ration of a lover, 

Few men were more harshly crit- 
icised and unjustly measured by the 
conservative elements in the Chris- 
tian Church. Yet, in spite of this, 
he was a steady church goer, and 
a constant supporter of every effort 
for helping the world. The spirit 
of Christianity, as delivered by Je- 
sus, was his spirit to a remarkable 



degree. 



12 



SAMPLES OF MONKEY WISDOM* 
Certain American monkeys, not 
at all noted for exceptional intelli- 
gence, exhibit a rather remarkable 
gift of foresight and calculation, and 
also possess the ability to learn from 
experience. 

Some of these monkeys were 
given eggs for food. The first time 
the monkeys tried to eat the new 
article of diet they roughly smash- 
ed the eggs, thus losing much of 
the contents. This waste finally ap- 
pealed to the monkey's sense of 
economy as undesirable. Later on 



* The Descent of Man. Vol. 1, pp. 
45-46. 

13 



the monkey gently hit an egg 
against some hard object, picked off 
the broken parts of shell with his 
fingers, and proceeded to enjoy the 
entire inside of the shell 

The same type of monkeys seem* 
ed to learn from the things they 
suffered. After cutting themselves 
with any sharp tool, they either re~ 
fused to touch it again, or handled 
it with extreme caution. 

One of these monkeys was given 
lumps of sugar done up in paper* 
He lost no time in unwrapping the 
package and appropriating the con- 
tents. A practical joke was played 
on this monkey. A live wasp was 
put inside the paper with the sugar. 

14 



In his haste to get at the contents 
the monkey was stung. After that 
experience Mr. Monkey grew cau- 
tious, and placed each wrapped 
package to his ear to detect the pres- 
ence of any undesirable insect in* 
side. In this way he avoided be- 
ing the victim of the same joke 
twice. 



SOME MEMORY TESTS* 

Many birds possess remarkable 
powers of memory and the ability 
to recognize not only other birds, 
but also animals and man. The 
mocking thrushes, who live in Lou- 



* The Descent of Man. Vol. 2, p. 100. 

15 



isiana the year 'round, have no trou- 
ble to tell their aristocratic neigh- 
bors who go North in Summer. 
Their "class consciousness" is also 
acute. Those who stay at home do 
not hesitate to attack the travel- 
ers when they come back after a 
summer's wandering under less sul- 
try skies. 

Birds, like many animals, exhibit 
strong personal prejudices, and 
sometimes with no apparent reason. 
A tame partridge is referred to 
which seemed to recognize "every- 
body, and its likes and dislikes were 
very strong." He had an eye for 
gay colors, and any one who ap- 
peared thus garbed was seemingly 
16 



considered a superior being on sight. 
Ducks easily discriminate between 
dogs and cats kept on the premises, 
as against strangers who come upon 
the scene. 

Darwin quotes Audubon's story 
of the wild turkey he reared and 
tamed. This bird always ran away 
from a strange dog, although friend- 
ly and familiar with the dog kept 
on the place. The turkey ran away 
to enjoy the freedom of the woods. 
Audubon seeing it, and thinking it 
a wild bird, "made his dog chase it; 
but to his astonishment the bird did 
not run away, and the dog, when he 
came up, did not attack the bird, 
for they mutually recognized each 
other as old friends." 

17 



A CRAB THAT EATS COCOA* 

NUTS* 

Many curious crabs live around 
the coral islands of the Pacific 
Ocean, A particular crab is won- 
derfully equipped to get its living. 
It has two pairs of legs. The front 
legs terminate in strong and heavy 
pincers j while the lateral legs are 
fitted with appliances of the same 
sort, though much weaker and naf* 
rower, This crab lives on a diet 
of cocoanut, and he secures his food 
himself without assistance. Pos- 
sessing himself of a cocoanut he pro- 

* Journal of Research into the Nat- 
ural History and Geology of Countries 
Visited During the Voyage of H. M. S. 
Beagle Round the World. Pp. 462-464, 

18 



ceeds to tear off the husks, fiber by 
fiber, and always from the right end, 
where the three "eye-holes" are sit- 
uated. Having removed the heavy 
jacket from the top of the shell, 
Mr. Crab proceeds to hammer one 
of the "eye-holes" with his claws 
till he has made an opening. He 
then reverses his body, and with his 
narrower pair of pincers extracts the 
white, albuminous substance from 
the cocoanut. His dinner being thus 
ready, he eats to fulness in real epi- 
curean fashion. 

This crab also makes for himself 

a rather comfortable house, which 

he burrows underneath the roots of 

a tree. He then makes his bed by 

19 



collecting 1 a large quantity of cocoa- 
nut fibre. So plentifully are these 
crab houses supplied with husks, 
that the natives rob the homes of 
the crabs, using the fibrous mass as 
junk. 

It is related that the strength of 
this crab's front pincers was once 
tested by confining one in a strong 
tin box, the lid being secured with a 
wire. Mr. Crab proved himself a 
most successful jail breaker. He 
punctured many small holes in the 
tin, turned down the edge of the 
box, and so escaped. 



50 



A CASE OF CAUSE AND EFFECT* 

A female baboon, living as a pet 
in captivity, developed a passion for 
the ownership of smaller animals. 
She not only bestowed her affec- 
tions on baby monkeys, not of her 
own family, but would steal puppies 
and kittens, which she would carry 
about with her as if they were her 
own children. 

She did not, however, exhibit uni- 
versal altruism in her conduct. At 
no time would she share her food 
with her stolen adopted progeny. 
This trait surprised the observing 



* The Descent of Man. Vol. 1, pp, 
39-40, 

21 



Alfred Brehm, the African traveler, 
as he found that his monkeys habit- 
ually divided their food with their 
own offspring. This particular ba- 
boon may have been discriminat- 
ing between alien puppies and kit- 
tens, and the children of her own 
flesh and blood. 

On one occasion this baboon ex- 
hibited an almost marvelous capa- 
city to trace trouble to its real 
source. One day one of her adopt- 
ed kittens scratched the foster 
mother badly. The baboon was evi- 
dently both surprised and grieved. 
But she determined to speedily know 
all about it. Immediately she made 
a careful examination of the naughty 

22 



kitten, spending considerable time 
examining its feet. The source of 
trouble was very soon located by the 
monkey mother. She reached a per- 
fectly logical conclusion, and at once 
applied an equally logical line of 
treatment for the case. Without 
more ado she bit off the kitten's of- 
fending claws. 

Not all boys and girls or men and 
women go as systematically or in- 
telligently about the task of find- 
ing out what hurts them, or as 
thoroughly proceed to remove the 
cause of trouble as did this baboon. 



23 



SLAVE-HOLDING ANTS* 
There are different species of 
slave-holding ants doing business 
in various sections of Europe and 
North America. These ants differ 
greatly in their characteristics and 
methods. One species of slave-hold- 
ers are singularly indolent and help- 
less touching their ordinary affairs, 
being absolutely dependent on their 
slaves for the most personal and or- 
dinary service. Apparently the only 
effort these ants ever make on their 
own account is the capturing of 
their slaves. This done, they lie 
back and take their ease. The task 



* Origin of Species. Pp. 213-215. 

24 



of making the nests for the family 
and feeding the young is performed 
by the slaves. If it becomes neces- 
sary for the community to migrate, 
the slaves direct the moving, even 
carrying their masters in their jaws 
while in transit. So lazy are these 
slave-holders that they will not feed 
themselves even when food is with- 
in easy reach. Without the slaves 
the whole family would starve to 
death. The act of capturing the 
slaves must be a very vivid mem- 
ory with them or they would not 
be held in bondage by such lazy 
task-masters. 

With another species of slave- 
makers the case is entirely different. 
25 



The slaves and their masters of this 
species live in separate apartments, 
the inferior ants being carefully seg- 
regated. In case of disturbance or 
danger, masters and slaves work to- 
gether, When migrating, the prac- 
tise of the other kind of ants, as 
stated above, is reversed, the mas- 
ters always taking the lead, and 
even carrying their slaves. 

The slave ants in Switzerland are 
really household servants, their 
principal work being domestic. Part 
of their business is to open and shut 
the doors of the ant~houses morning 
and night. For it must be remem- 
bered that these social ants protect 
their domiciles with doors. 
26 



This species of ant seems to re- 
spect the social and other laws of 
the insect world. In their acts of 
preying and conquest they nicely 
discriminate between the ants that 
belong to the recognized servile 
class and those of the free folk, and 
seldom if ever capture the young of 
the kind of ants not held in serv- 
itude. 



ANTS THAT KEEP A DAIRY* 
Among the curious things in the 
insect world are the aphides. To be 
perfectly plain, these insects are 
plant parasites, or lice. While them- 
selves living off the juices of trees 

* Origin of Species. Pp. 203-214. 
27 



or plants, nature makes them an un- 
conscious part of a game of give and 
take, for they afford a means of lux- 
urious living to other insects* 

Near the abdomen of the aphides 
are small, almost microscopic tubes, 
from which a sweet liquid is emit- 
ted, which is greatly enjoyed by ants. 
The liquid secretion of the aphis is 
called honey-dew. 

The aphides are captured and kept 
as food producing insects, very 
much as men keep cows for their 
milk. The ants milk the aphides by 
rubbing their antanae over the tubes 
of the insects containing the honey- 
dew, when it is emitted and greed- 
ily devoured by the ants. It is re- 

28 



corded that an artificial disturbance 
of the tubes did not cause the 
aphides to give up their ^sweet 
liquid. 

While the aphides do not seem to 
object to the milking process of the 
ants, it is not claimed by Darwin 
that they give up their honey-dew 
simply for the benefit of the ants. 
The secretion of sweet fluid, (if not 
removed by the ants) is after a time 
voided by the aphides. It is an in- 
teresting fact, however, that the ap- 
pearance of the ants on the scene 
with their milking performance re- 
lieves the aphides, and of course 
feeds the ants. This arrangement, 
in which both sides are benefited, 
seems to be a bit of ideal reci- 
procity in the insect world. 
29 



CASES OF BIRD VANITY 
It is affirmed by Darwin and oth- 
er naturalists, that birds of gorge- 
ous plumage do not always use 
their fine feathers for lovemaking 
purposes. The peacock "evidently 
wishes for a spectator of some kind, 
and will show off his finery, as I 
have often seen, before poultry or 
even pigs. All naturalists who 
have closely attended to the habits 
of birds, whether in a state of na- 
ture, or under confinement, are unan- 
imously of the opinion that the 
males delight to display their beau- 
ty." But at the mating season, a 

^Descent of Man. Vol. 2. Pp. 83-84. 
30 



display of bird vanity seems to be 
particularly in order. 

The rock-bird of South America 
is said to be the most beautiful crea- 
ture in the bird world. The male 
delights to display his plumage. He 
spreads his wings, throws up his 
head, and opens his tail like a fan. 
The bird struts about with a hop- 
ping gait until tired, when he is 
relieved by another. "Thus three 
of them successively took the field, 
and then with self-approbation, 
withdrew to rest." 



31 



A HEROIC BABOON* 

One sunshiny morning in far-away 
Abyssinia a troop of baboons were 
crossing a broad valley, possibly 
emigrating in semi-human fashion 
from one section of country to an- 
other. Part of the company had 
passed over the low-land, and were 
ascending the safer rocky mountain- 
side. 

That part of the company still in 
the valley were attacked by dogs, 
representing a group of human hunt- 
ers near by. No sooner was the 
attack begun than the old males 
came down from the mountain, and 

*The Descent of Man. Pp. 72-73, 
32 



made such a fearful noise with their 
mouths that the dogs were fright- 
ened, and beat an inglorious retreat. 
The hunters encouraged the dogs, 
and then tried to force them to re- 
new the attack, but during the pe- 
riod of delay, all the baboons but 
one had made a safe escape to the 
rocks. 

In the haste and confusion of the 
demonstration, a young baboon not 
more than six months old had been 
left behind. He was able to climb 
on a piece of rock, when he was 
quickly surrounded by the dogs. The 
little fellow in his fear set up a pit- 
eous appeal to his fellows for help. 

"Now one of the largest males, 
33 



a true hero, came down again from 
the rocky retreat, and slowly went 
to the young one, coaxed him, and 
triumphantly lead him away." 

This exhibition of monkey cour- 
age so much astonished the pack 
of dogs that they had no ability to 
attack the deliverer, leading his lit- 
tle charge to safety. An exhibition 
of the same sort of moral courage 
by men generally disconcerts the 
noisy, belligerent human brute and 
bully. 

BIRD BOWER BUILDERS* 
The Bower-birds, of Australia, 
have an over-developed aesthetic 

♦The Descent of Man. Vol. 2, pp» 
66-68. 

34 



sense. The bowers they build are 
purely for ornamental and attractive 
purposes, as the nests of these birds 
are always built in the trees. In the 
main the bowers are built by the 
male bird and to make them ex- 
tremely attractive the bowers are 
highly decorated with feathers, 
shells, bones, leaves and other mate- 
rial which he considers beautiful. 
It is believed that these bowers are 
built solely as places of assemblage, 
serving the purpose of a sort of 
bird ball-room. Both sexes assem- 
ble in them, the theory of the natur- 
alist being that the main purpose of 
the bowers is to afford a place for 
lovemaking. Some species of Bow- 

35 



er-birds build bowers several feet 
in length and eighteen inches high, 
raised on a thick platform of sticks* 
Much labor and pains are bestowed 
upon the bowers, which seem to 
be forgotten after the mating season 
is over. 



AN AQUATIC BALLOON* 
The Diodon is a strange fish that 
inhabits the tropical South American 
ocean, which possesses a singular 
power of self-inflation. The air is 
swallowed and forced into the cav- 



* Journal of Researches into the Nat- 
ural History and Geography of the 
Countries Visited During the Voyage 
of H. M. S. Beagle Around the World. 
Pp. 13-14. 

36 



ity of the body, its return being pre- 
vented by muscular contraction 
which amounts to a stop valve. 
Water, which also assists in the in- 
flation process, enters as a gentle 
stream through the mouth. The 
fish remains distended for a short 
time, when the air and water are 
expelled with considerable force 
through the bronchial aperatures 
and the mouth. A portion of the 
water is expelled at will, the appar- 
ent reason for it being taken in is 
for the sake of regulating the spe- 
cific gravity of the body. 

Like many other living things, 
the Diodon possesses several means 
of defense. It can quite serenely 
37 



eject water from its mouth some 
distance, at the same time making a 
curious noise with its jaws, such 
demonstration apparently being 
made to frighten its undesirable 
neighbor. 

The Diodon also has the ability 
to secrete from its skin, when han- 
dled, a beautiful carmine fibrous 
matter, which will stain ivory and 
paper with a permanent color. Mr. 
Darwin says: "I am quite ignorant 
of the nature and use of this secre- 
tion." 

Darwin mentions on the author- 
ity of another naturalist, that the 
Diodon may be frequently found 
floating alive and distended in the 

38 



stomach of the shark. "On several 
occasions it has been known to eat 
its way not only through the coats 
of the stomach, but through the 
sides of the monster, which has thus 
been killed. Who would ever have 
imagined that a little soft fish could 
have destroyed the great and savage 
shark?" 



THE CONQUEST OF THE CORAL 
Darwin describes the persistence 
of the coral builders as they rear 
their structures in spite of winds 
or waves. Intensified by the per- 
petual and prevailing trade-winds, 
no periods of repose come to coral 
walls. These trade-winds cause 

39 



breakers as forceful as those raised 
by a heavy wind on the rocky shores 
of the temperate ocean. "It is im- 
possible to behold these waves with- 
out feeling a conviction that an 
island, though built of the hardest 
rock, let it be porphyry, granite or 
quartz, would ultimately yield and 
be demolished by such an irresist- 
ible power. Yet these low, insig- 
nificant coral-islets stand and are 
victorious, for here another power 
as an antagonist, takes part in the 
contest. The organic forces sepa- 
rate the atoms of carbonate of lime, 
one by one, from the foaming break- 
ers, and unite them into a symmet- 
rical structure. Let the hurricane 

40 



tear up its thousand huge frag- 
ments; yet what will that tell 
against the accumulated labor of 
myriads of architects at work night 
and day, month after month? Thus 
do we see the soft and gelatinous 
body of a polypus, through the agen- 
cy of the vital laws, conquering the 
great mechanical power of the waves 
of an ocean which neither the art 
of man nor the inanimate works 
of nature could successfully resist." 



41 



THE PORCUPINES' WARNING 
QUILLS* 

Shakespeare knew something 
about porcupines, as this quotation 
from Hamlet shows: 

"Make thy two eyes like stars, 

Start from their spheres, 
Thy knitted and combed locks to part, 
And each particular hair to stand on 

end, 
Like quills upon the fretful porcupine." 

But he probably did not know 
that the porcupine has two kinds of 
quills, both showing, in their struc- 
ture, a wonderful adaptation of 
means to ends. 

Darwin tells us that the quills on 



*Expression of the Emotions 
Animals and Man. Pp. 93-94. 

42 



the porcupine's tail are very differ- 
ent from those on the body. The 
tail quills "are short, hollow, and 
thin like a goose-quill. " Their ends 
are open like a tube, and look as 
if they had been evenly cut off. 
"They are supported on the body 
by long thin elastic foot-stalks. Now, 
when the tail is rapidly shaken, 
these hollow quills strike against 
each other, and produce a peculiar 
continuous sound. 

Porcupines are animals that de- 
light to prowl about at night, and 
these noise-producing quills seem 
to serve a wise purpose of warning. 
Mr. Darwin assumes that when por- 
cupines hear "a prowling beast of 
43 



prey, it would be a great advantage 
to them in the dark to give warn- 
ing to their enemy what they were, 
and that they were furnished with 
dangerous spines. They would thus 
escape being attacked." 



THE DOG WITH THE HOT- 
HOUSE FACE* 
Among Darwin's pet dogs was a 
large black and white half-bred re- 
triever. This animal was the de- 
lighted companion of the naturalist 
in his walks about the home and 
neighborhood. Bob, for this was the 
dog's name, had but one fear in the 

* Expression of the Emotions in Ani- 
mals and Man. Pp. 59-60. 

44 



jaunts which he took with his mas- 
ter. This fear was that the walk 
would be too short. 

When the pair started out, Bob 
generally led the way, and he was 
an elated leader. Stepping high, 
with head much raised, erected ears, 
and tail carried aloft, but not stiffly, 
he was the picture of four-footed 
pleasure. 

But Darwin was interested in liv- 
ing things besides dogs. Not far 
from the residence was a hot-house, 
where the naturalist cultivated 
plants for experimental purposes, 
This was reached by a path which 
branched to the right, near the 
dwelling. When Darwin would 

45 



turn down this path, Bob show- 
ed disappointment to the point 
of dejection, for his dog mind made 
him fear that the hot-house would 
really be the end of the walk. The 
instantaneous and complete change 
in Bob's expression formed one of 
the naturalist's favorite studies of 
the emotions in animals. So alert 
was the dog that any swerving of 
his master towards the hot-house 
brought on the symptoms of dejec- 
tion. It worked the same when an 
inclination to turn down the path 
was shown, simply to experiment 
with Bob's emotions. When this 
feeling came the ears fell to the side 
of the head, the attitude of the whole 
46 



body changed and the eyes lost 
their sparkle. The case of Bob be- 
came so well known to all the Dar- 
win family that he was called by 
them the dog with the "hot-house 
face," 



A MATTER OF MEMORY.* 

"It is almost superfluous to state 
that animals have excellent memo- 
ries for persons and places." The 
case is cited of the Cape of Good 
Hope baboon, which recognized Sir 
Andrew Smith with manifestations 
of joy after an absence of nine 
months. 



^Descent of Man. Vol. 1, p. 44. 
47 



Mr. Darwin had a dog who was 
savage to strangers, and exhibited 
strong dislike to persons he did not 
know. After an absence of five 
years Mr. Darwin tested the dog's 
memory by going near the stable 
where he lived, "and shouted to him 
in my old manner; he showed no 
joy, but instantly followed me out 
walking, and obeyed me, exactly as 
if I had parted with him an hour 
before." Evidently the sound of the 
familiar friendly voice aroused re- 
collections that had been in the 
background for years. 

Ants, we are assured, are able to 
recognize their fellow-ants, mem- 
bers of the same community, after 
being separated for months. 

48 



DO ANIMALS DREAM?* 

Darwin was quite sure that ani- 
mals are not entirely devoid of im- 
agination. He quotes without criti- 
cism Jean Paul Richter's remark that 
"the dream is an involuntary act of 
poetry." He then refers approving- 
ly to Dr. Jerden's opinion that birds 
dream. Darwin intimates that dogs, 
cats and other animals dream; and 
these dreams are vivid as impres- 
sions to the animals that have them. 
He says, "We must admit that they 
possess some power of imagination." 

Without feeling sure that dreams 
are the stuff of which poetry is 

*The Descent of Man. Vol. 1, p. 44. 
49 



made, or that even the imagination 
of animals is fortified by judgment, 
or the power of combining impres- 
sions enjoyed by them, the imagina* 
tion of our pets, helps to establish 
the common kinship which we have 
with them, 



THE POT WOULD NOT COOK. 

While in the Cordillera Moun- 
tains, Mr, Darwin had a demonstra- 
tion of the fact that a boiling pot 
will not always cook vegetables. On 
account of the great elevation, and 
the diminished pressure of the at- 
mosphere, water boils at a much 
lower temperature than on the low- 
50 



er levels. A pot of potatoes was 
left on the fire all night, and the 
next morning boiled again, but the 
tubers were not cooked. Two per- 
sons in the party not up in physics 
came to the conclusion that the pot, 
which was a new one, simply did 
ttot choose to boil potatoes. 



A SEA-ISLAND LIZARD.* 

The Galapagos Archipelago is the 
home of land lizards which have a 
number of peculiarities. They 
seem to thrive in the dry and sterile 



*Journal of Researches into the Natu- 
ral History and Geology of the Countries 
Visited During the Voyage of H. M. S. 
Beagle Round the World, pp. 388-389. 

51 



sections of the islands. Individual 
specimens frequently weigh as 
much as a dozen pounds. 

They live in burrows, which they 
excavate, and so numerous are they 
that in many cases the land is near- 
ly undermined by these somewhat 
subterranean creatures. In digging 
their burrows they work with first 
one side and then the other side of 
their bodies. The digging is done 
with one fore paw, which loosens 
the earth and tosses it back, when 
the corresponding hind foot heaves 
it beyond the mouth of the hole. 
"That side of the body being tired, 
the other takes up the task and so 
on alternately. I watched one for 
52 



a long time, till half its body was 
buried ; I then walked up and pulled 
it by the tail ; at this it was greatly 
astonished and soon shuffled up to 
see what was the matter; and then 
stared me in the face, as much as to 
say, 'What made you pull my tail ?' " 

These lizards seem to have some 
dramatic skill, for they will act very 
fierce, although they are quite in- 
offensive and harmless. They seem 
able to live practically without wa- 
ter, getting their liquid refreshment 
from the succulent plants, upon 
which they feed. They eat very de- 
liberately, but do not chew their 
food. 

The birds and smaller animals of 
53 



the region understand very well how 
harmless the land lizard is. Birds 
and lizards are often seen nibbling 
at the same piece of cactus; and it 
is not uncommon for the little birds 
to perch themselves on the lizard's 
back. 



POLLY THE FOX-TERRIER.* 

Mr. Darwin's favorite dog was 
Polly, a rough, white fox-terrier. 
She is described as particularly af- 
fectionate and sharp-witted. Be- 
tween this little animal and her mas- 
ter a great affection existed, and 



The Life and Letters of Charles Dar- 
win. Vol. 1. pp. 92 and 107-8. 

54 



they understood each other perfect- 

Polly was always able to antici- 
pate Mr. Darwin's journeys. She 
noted every step in the preparation, 
and as the time for his departure ap- 
proached became more and more de- 
jected. She was equally able to an- 
ticipate her master's return home. 
His son, in his biographical sketch 
of Mr. Darwin, says: "He used to 
greatly enjoy the welcome he got 
from his dog Polly, who would get 
wild with excitement, panting, 
squeaking, rushing 'round the room 
and jumping on and off the chairs; 
and he used to stoop down, press- 
ing her face to his, letting her lick 

55 



him, and speaking to her with a pe- 
culiar tender caressing voice." It 
must surely have been a touching 
sight to see the great lover of nature 
thus bend to receive the caresses of 
his little four-footed friend. 

Polly performed many clever 
tricks, such as catching biscuits off 
her nose. She knew and coveted 
certain stock things Mr. Darwin 
would say to her. When let out of 
the door, and her master would say 
it was done so that she might bark 
at "naughty people," she was filled 
with delight, and always kept the 
contract so far as the barking was 
concerned. A few days after Mr. 
Darwin's death, Polly had to be 
56 



killed, as she was very sick, beyond 
the hope of recovery. 



THE TRICKY CUCKOO.* 

The English cuckoo has a habit 
of laying her eggs in the nest of 
some other bird, thus shirking the 
task of hatching them. This, of 
course, also means that the cuckoo 
parents transfer the task of caring 
for the young to the bird who has 
unwittingly, if not unwillingly, 
hatched them. 

Be that as it may, naturalists are 
not agreed as to the real cause for 
the cuckoo thus imposing her re- 



*Origin of Species, pp. 109-10. 
57 



sponsibilities upon some other bird. 
As the cuckoo does not lay her eggs 
daily, but at intervals of two or 
three days, it may be that her 
strange habit is not due to laziness 
or indifference, but to avoid having 
unhatched eggs and live birds on 
her hands at the same time. When 
the cuckoo thus deposits her eggs 
in the nest of her neighbors she di- 
vides her enforced labor by laying 
only one tgg in a particular nest. 
Naturalists are puzzled over the 
conduct of this bird, for the Ameri- 
can cuckoo makes her own nest, has 
eggs and young successively on her 
hands at the same time, and does 
not seem to have any trouble in 

58 



dealing with the situation. While 
this is the usual habit of the native 
bird, there are cases which warrant 
the belief that occasionally the 
American cuckoo plays an English 
trick on its neighbors by laying an 
egg in the nest of some other bird. 
The Australian cuckoo seems to 
follow the conduct of her English 
relative. This bird endeavors to se- 
lect the nest of a bird whose eggs 
are most nearly the color of her 
own, thus apparently intending to 
deceive the bird whose nest she has 
invaded. The youn^ cuckoos seem 
to be absolutely deficient in grati- 
tude, for they proceed, when they 
get large enough, to eject the chil- 
dren of their foster parents. 

59 



BIRD PROUD OF HIS BEAUTY.* 

The goldfinch is one of the most 
handsome of English birds. His 
wings are unusually beautiful. The 
shoulders are a shiny black, "while 
the dark-tipped wing-feathers are 
spotted with white, and edged with 
golden yellow." When the male is 
in his courting mood, he employs all 
of his arts of persuasion. Swaying 
his body from side to side, he slight- 
ly expands his wings, first one side 
and then the other; the sunlight re- 
flects on the golden wing-feathers, 
giving them a most striking effect. 
It would hardly be right to call the 

*The Descent of Man. Vol. 2, p. 91. 
60 



goldfinch a fop, yet he knows how 
to put his best side to the front as 
successfully as any of the men folks 
among the human species. 



WOOING OF THE KATY-DID.* 
Our American Katy-did is a 
strange and also a cute insect, and 
in this respect he is resembled by 
the entire cricket family. The noisy 
tree-tops, where the Katy-dids 
dwell, simply resound with the 
notes of rival gentlemen of the spe- 
cies, who are determined that no 
challenging chirp from a neighbor- 
ing limb shall go unanswered. It 
is this effort of ardent lovers to 



^Descent of Man. Vol. 1, p. 342. 
61 



eclipse each other which makes up 
the insect concert. 

The field cricket's note is also a 
love song, and he is artful to a high 
degree in making himself agreeable 
to his lady-love. In the evening he 
places himself at the entrance to his 
underground abode, and loudly pro- 
claims his presence and purpose. 
When the object of his affection ap- 
proaches, he lowers his voice, and in 
gentler mood presents his claim. 
He does the best he can to be a 
palaverer. 



62 



JEALOUS BIRD SINGERS.* 
Mr. Darwin and other naturalists 
agree in the opinion that certain 
male birds sing out of a spirit of 
rivalry or a sense of vanity, and not 
always to please the opposite sex. 
Birds have been known to literally 
sing themselves to death, impelled 
by pure delight at their own per- 
formance. 

We are told of a case where a 
canary bird sang enthusiastically 
while viewing himself in a mirror. 
At last thinking he was facing a 
rival bird, he dashed himself against 
his own wings. 



*Origin of Species. Vol. 2, pp. 50-51. 
63 



The jealousy of birds in song has 
been taken advantage of by bird- 
catchers. "A male, in good song, is 
hidden and protected, while a stuffed 
bird, surrounded by limed twigs, is 
exposed to view. In this manner a 
man, as Mr. Weir informs me, has 
caught in the course of a single day, 
fifty, and in one instance seventy, 
male chaffinches." The stuffed bird 
and the hidden singer served as de- 
coys for the other birds. 



THE EAGLE AND THE MONKEY.* 

A small monkey in a tree-top was 

attacked by an eagle, the evident 



^Descent of Man. Vol. 1, p. 73. 
64 



purpose being to carry the little fel- 
low away to be food for the young 
eagles. The monkey, however, 
clung tenaciously to the limb, and 
cried lustily for assistance. Many 
members of the monkey band came 
enthusiastically to the rescue. With 
loud voices and united action they 
attacked the common enemy. Their 
mode of attack was unique, for they 
proceeded to pull out the eagle's 
feathers. The desired effect was 
produced, for the king of the air for- 
got his prey and thought only how 
to escape from his tormentors. His 
pride as well as his person may have 
been wounded in this experience. 
Brehm, the naturalist, quoted by 
65 



Darwin, remarked, "This eagle as- 
suredly would never again attack a 
monkey in a troop." 



THE SINGER AND HIS SONG.* 

It appears that while the love- 
making among birds is generally 
done by the male, it is the privilege 
of the female to do the choosing. 
In many cases it is found that the 
lady bird selects the singer with the 
most musical voice. It is said that 
in other cases the canary always 
chooses the best singer, and "in a 
state of nature the female finch se- 
lects that male out of a hundred 
whose notes please her most." 

*D<escent of Man. Vol. 2, p. 50, 
66 



That birds pay attention to each 
other's song is not doubted. A cer- 
tain bullfinch had been taught to 
pipe a German waltz. This bird 
was finally introduced into "a room 
where other birds were kept." 
When he began to sing all the oth- 
er birds ranged themselves on the 
nearest side of their cages, and were 
delighted and appreciative patrons 
of the bird recital. 



67 



A SEAL WITH A HOOD.* 

The sea elephant is a most curious 
beast. His nose is strangely flexible, 
and can be lengthened at will, es- 
pecially during certain seasons of 
the year, and at these times it can 
be erected. The voice of the male 
is particularly loud and strong, and 
can be heard at a great distance, at 
least three or four miles. Natural- 
ists believe that the voice is very 
much strengthened by the singular 
proboscis. 

An allied kind of seal, known as 
the "bladder nose/' has the head cov- 



*Descent of Man. Vol. 2, pp. 264-265, 
68 



ered by a great hood. This hood can 
be inflated until it more than equals 
the whole head in size. Scientists 
are not agreed whether this hood is 
given the seal as a protection against 
accidents, or whether its purpose is 
simply to strengthen the voice. The 
fact that whenever this strange crea- 
ture is agitated the hood or bladder 
is inflated, might fortify either sup- 
position. Whatever the purpose, 
this bladder is one of the wonderful 
provisions which nature makes in 
the development of animals. 



69 



MONKEYS AND DRINK.* 

Monkeys are apt learners, and 
seem to be able to be taught bad 
habits as well as good ones. They 
rapidly develop a taste for tea, coffee 
and liquors. Mr. Darwin says that 
he has seen them smoke tobacco 
with evident pleasure. 

Brehm, the naturalist, declares that 
he has seen monkeys captured in 
northeastern Africa, after having 
first been made drunk by the natives. 
He also tells of monkeys kept in 
confinement being intoxicated. 
These animals had all the symptoms 



^Descent of Man. Vol. 1. p. 12. 
70 



of men "the day after." They held 
their aching heads in their hands, 
and were as sick and penitent as any 
drunkard. When in this condition 
the monkeys turned away from li- 
quor with distrust, but took the 
juice of lemons gladly. 

The story is told of an American 
monkey, who, after getting drunk 
on brandy, would never touch it 
again. Mr. Darwin sagely remarks 
that he was "thus wiser than many 
men/' 



71 



A CASE OF RACE PREJUDICE.* 

Some birds have well-developed 
race prejudices. On the Faroe Isl- 
ands there is a variety of pied ra- 
vens. These birds, instead of being 
jet black, have the head and breast 
white, with the tail feathers tipped 
with the same color. 

In spite of their evident right to 
a home in the land of their birth, 
they are considered "undesirable 
citizens" by the members of the reg- 
ular raven family. The more aris- 
tocratic if not more numerous ra- 
vens make life miserable for their 



^Descent of Man. Vol. 2, p. 121. 
72 



unpopular relatives, as they are pur- 
sued and persecuted with much 
noise by the more common birds. 



THE MAGPIE MARRIAGE.* 

Delamere Forest in England used 
to be the annual rallying point of 
the magpies. To this spot the birds 
came in great numbers. They gen- 
erally divided themselves into flocks 
or groups, and indulged in more or 
less prolonged confabs. 

These annual affairs had some 
rather human characteristics. The 
chattering was confusing, and the 
bustling about and jostling of each 



♦Descent of Man. Vol. 2. p. 98. 
73 



other led to rather disorderly out- 
breaks. It was not uncommon for 
a few fights to get under way during 
the "fair," if such it was. 

These gathernigs always came in 
the spring, and the country folk call- 
ed this the "great magpie marriage. ,, 
At any rate when the "party" broke 
up the birds separated, and then 
departed by twos, apparently as 
husband and wife for the season. 



INTEREST AND KINDNESS OF 
BIRDS.* 
Birds have been known to exhibit 
sympathy and extend care to or- 



*Descent of Man. Vol. 2, p. 105. 
74 



phans of their own, and sometimes 
of distinct species. Under this kind- 
ly impulse little birds that have been 
deserted for any cause by their nat- 
ural parents are regularly fed. 

Darwin refers to Mr. Buxton's 
story of the parrot "which took care 
of a frost-bitten and crippled bird 
of a distinct species." The feathers 
of the crippled bird were cleaned, 
and she was defended from the at- 
tacks of birds not so kindly as her 
well-disposed friend. 

It is also claimed that birds not 
only sympathize with their fellows 
in trouble, but also rejoice in their 
pleasure and good fortune. A case 
is told of a pair of cockatoos who 

75 



made a nest in a near-by tree, and 
"it was ludicrous to see the extrava- 
gant interest taken in the matter by- 
others of the same species." 



BIRDS ATTRACTED TO THE 
BEAUTIFUL.* 

Other stories illustrate the admi- 
ration of many birds for the beauti- 
ful. There are cases, however, 
where Darwin and other naturalists 
are not certain whether the attrac- 
tion of birds to bright and beautiful 
things is due to admiration or curi- 
osity. In either case these birds ex- 
hibit intelligence and some judg- 



*Descent of Man. Vol. 2, p. 107. 
76 



ment in their attraction for the 
beautiful. The Rue bird of the Ion- 
ian Islands "will dart down to a 
bright-colored handkerchief, regard- 
less of repeated shots." Larks are 
often brought to earth and caught 
"by a small mirror made to move 
and glitter in the sun." The mag- 
pie and raven have been known to 
steal and hide bright objects, such 
as silver articles or jewels. The dec- 
orations employed by many birds in 
building their nests, beautiful pieces 
of plants or feathers being neatly 
woven into the nests and sometimes 
so placed that the ornaments "stand 
out beyond the surface," can hardly 

77 



be due to curiosity, but rather to a 
manifest taste for the beautiful. 



ANIMALS AS LEARNERS.* 
It seems to be a pretty well estab- 
lished fact that animals not related 
to each other learn certain acts from 
association. Two kinds of wolves 
reared by dogs learned to bark like 
their foster parents, and the jackal 
has been known to also be an apt 
learner in the same line. 

There are cases where puppies 
which were nursed by cats learned 
to lick their paws and wash their 
faces like the felines. The supposi- 



*Descent of Man. pp. 42-43. 
78 



tion is that whenever dogs thus 
wash their faces the performance 
was learned from their cat friends. 
Just how many cases of this kind 
can be credited to voluntary imita- 
tion is not stated by the scientist. 



BIRDS WITH SPRING SUITS.* 
Tennyson was both poetically and 
scientifically correct when he wrote 
in Locksley Hall: 

"'In the spring a fuller crimson 
Comes upon the robin's breast; 

In the spring the wanton lapwing 
Gets himself another crest." 

Darwin tells us that certain birds 
become more bright colored in the 

*The Descent of Man, Vol. 2. pp. 
82-83, 

79 



spring, but not because of the shed- 
ding of old feathers and getting new 
ones. It is not certain whether this 
transformation is the result of an 
actual change of color in the feath- 
ers, or because their more obscure 
margins fall away, leaving the 
brighter parts exposed. 

A variety of pelican which has a 
beautiful rosy tint, and lemon-color- 
ed marks on the breast, is a good 
sample of the change of plumage. 
These lemon-colored marks over- 
spread the whole breast in the 
spring, but they disappear in about 
two months after they have been at- 
tained. "Certain feathers become 
more bright-colored in the spring," 

80 



and a number of American birds un- 
dergo the same transformation. Not 
all birds of the same class, however, 

thus put on a spring suit by chang- 
ing their plumage. 



CASES OF SURPRISE AND 
CURIOSITY.* 
Darwin asserts that "all animals 
feel wonder." But that is not all. 
They all exhibit curiosity in a mark- 
ed degree. Some very fine samples 
of the way this quality even over- 
shadowed fear are given. A stuffed 
and coiled-up snake was taken into a 
monkey house in a Zoological Gar- 



*Descent of Man. Vol. 1. pp. 41-4& 
81 



den. The excitement which this 
strange intruder caused is described 
as ludicrous. Some of the monkeys 
"dashed about their cages and utter- 
ed sharp signals of danger, which 
were understood by the other mon* 
keys/' The animals became very 
nervolis, so much so that when a 
familiar object like a ball was intro- 
duced under the straw and made to 
move they all started away* A live 
snake was then placed in a papef 
bag arid deposited in a monkey cage* 
The mouth of the bag was only 
loosely closed, when one of the 
monkeys peeped in, had a view of 
the uncanny visitor and beat a re- 
treat. But monkey curiosity had 



become contagious, and not one was 
willing to be satisfied with the ex- 
perience of the original adventurer, 
for each monkey proceeded to take 
sly, but momentary peeks, at the 
"dreadful object lying at the bottom 
of the paper bag." 



A SMART SEA GULL.* 
Real naturalists do not negatively 
dogmatize. They do not assert with 
positiveness that the creatures be- 
low man have no reasoning facul- 
ties. While it is admitted that rea- 
son in birds and animals is of a low 
form, Mr. Darwin felt that there 

*The Descent of Man, Vol. 2, p. 104, 
83 



are ttlariy instances whefe the ffleil 3 
tal processes are of such a quality as 
to rank as reason. He quotes Yar* 
hell in his work on "British Birds' 5 
as furnishing a case in point. 

A gull* presumably in captivity, 
was given a small bird for his din- 
ner, but he was unable to swallow 
the morsel. We are told that the 
gull "paused for a moment, and then 
as if suddenly recollecting himself, 
ran off at full speed to a pan of wa s 
ter, shook the bird about in it until 
well soaked and immediately gulped 
it down." After that when the por- 
tion of food was too large and hard 
to be comfortably managed by th6 
84 



gull he promptly repeated his "soak- 
ing" experiment, 



A MONKEY SAVED HIS FRIEND.* 
In the London Zoological Garden 
a large and fine baboon attacked the 
keeper and inflicted serious wounds 
on his body. In fact had the attack 
been prolonged it is likely the keeper 
would have been killed. 

A small American monkey, noted 
for its timidity, saw the attack. He 
was very fond of the keeper, and 
seeing his friend's peril he bravely 
rushed to the rescue, and by biting 
the baboon and screaming loudly he 

^Descent of Man, Vol, 1. p, 75, 
85 



so distracted the assailant that he 
quit his assault on the keeper. 

This little animal gave the finest 
evidence of friendship in that he 
risked his own life for his friend, 

SLEEPING PLANTS* 
It seems to be a universal law that 
all living things must have their pe- 
riods of sleep, when they experience 
rest and recuperation, Even the 
leaves on plants sleep. It used to 
be the theory that leaves only 
move when either going to sleep or 
when waking from their slumbers* 
But investigations have demonstrat- 

*The Movements of Plants, pp, 403, 47, 
86 



ed that leaves move both day and 
night. 

The leaves and twigs of plants 
have movements of their own, not 
caused by the wind, but apparently 
self-impelled, It is thought these 
movements may have been inherited 
in some eases, 

While the leaves of plants move in 
their waking as well as in their 
sleeping houri, it is known that 
leaves move more quickly when go- 
ing to sleep and when waking than 
at other times, 



87 



THE VALUE OF ATTENTION* 

The faculty of attention is just as 
important in the development of ani- 
mals as it is in the education of 
men. In spite of the great function 
which has been assigned instinct, ani- 
mals vary as much as men in their 
gifts. Mr. Darwin assures us that 
those who train monkeys find that 
success in this accomplishment de- 
pends as much upon the animal's 
power of attention as it does upon 
the skill of the trainer. 

A man who trained monkeys, and 
who bought them in the market, was 



*The Descent of Man, Vol. 1, p. 43. 
88 



quite willing to pay twice the or- 
dinary price if he might test them 
out two or three days before the 
final decision. Monkeys which were 
easily distracted, and whose attention 
was given to outside matters, made 
poor pupils, and training them be- 
came a hopeless case. Such monk- 
eys could not be corrected by pun- 
ishment, each effort only making 
them more sullen and obstinate. On 
the other hand, monkeys which gave 
careful attention to the trainer, made 
good pupils, and became expert per- 
formers of tricks, Attention to the 
thing in hand seems universally nec- 
essary to success, 



89 



MOTHERLY MONKEYS* 
Maternal care is exhibited by the 
females of all the higher animals, and 
many exhibitions of this sort are 
akin to human conduct, The Cebus 
is a particularly intelligent Ameri* 
can monkey, The mother of this 
species watches her baby when 
sleeping, and has been known to 
drive away the flies which disturbed 
her infant. 

A monkey mother of another kind 
was phenomenally intelligent and 
thoughtful regarding the care of her 
offspring, One day she took her 



*Deteent of Man, Vol 1, p, 39, 
90 



children to a stream, and energetic 
cally and carefully washed their 
faces. We are not told whether the 
young monkeys entered the same 
protest as boys sometimes do under 
like circumstances, 



ARTISTIC BEES* 
Bees are social insects, and en- 
gage in co-operative labor, In mak- 
ing their wonderfully geometric 
cells, they work together. It often 
happens that a score of bees may 
begin on a single cell. They do 
not, however, finish one cell before 



*Origin of Speciei, p, 2%2. 
91 



they begin another. But they never 
forget where they leave off a partic- 
ular piece of unfinished work, going 
back and completing the task in ac- 
cordance with an arrangement all 
their own. 

Mr. Darwin notes not only the 
mechanical ability of bees, but also 
their artistic skill. When he put a 
thin layer of melted vermilion wax 
on a rim of unfinished comb, the bees 
made use of the gift to color the 
cells. He says, "X invariably found 
that the color was most delicately 
diffused by the bees, as delicately as 
a painter could have done it with 
his brush, by atoms of the colored 

92 



wax having been taken from the spot 
on which it had been placed, and 
worked into the growing edges of 
the cells all around/* 



m 



INDEX 

A Case of Bird Prejudice, 72. 

A Case of Cause and Effect, 21, 

A Crab That Eats Cocoanuts, IS. 

An Aquatic Balloon, 36. 

A Heroic Baboon, 32. 

Ants That Keep a Dairy, 27. 

A Matter of Memory, 47. 

A Monkey Saved His Friend, 85. 

Audubon, on Wild Turkey, 17. 

Author's Preface, 4. 

Ants that hold slaves, 24; make slaves do 

work, 25; as household servants, 26; 

milk aphides, 28; have memory, 48. 
Artistic Bees, 01. 
A Sea-Island Lizard, 51. 
A Smart Sea Gull, S3. 

Baboon, steals puppies and kittens, 21; 

bites toes from kitten, 23; plays the 

hero, 34. 
Balloon, an aquatic, 36. 
Biographical Introduction, 6. 
Bird Bower Builders, 34. 
Birds Attracted to the Beautiful, 76. 
Birds sing from pure delight, 63; jealousy 

of, 64; attracted to the beautiful, 76; as 

decorators, 77. 
Bird Proud of His Beauty, 60. 

Cases of Surprise and Curiosity, 81. 
94 



Coral, how walls are made) 40* 

Crab that eats cocoanuts, 18; breaks jaii> 

20. 
Cricket, his song, 62. 
Cuckoo, how she lays her eggs, 57; thg 

Australian, 59; the American, 58; young 

of ^ ungrateful, 59. 

Do Animals Dream? 49, 
Diodon, a fish balloon, 36. 
Dog, Darwin's Companion, 45; shows dis- 
appointment, 46; faculty of memory, 4§. 
Dreams of Animals, 49. 

Goldfinch, has powers of persuasion, 60; 
his beauty, 60, 

Interest and Kindness of Birds, ?4. 

Jealous Bird Singers, 63 . 

Raty-did, love-song of, 61, 

Lizard, lives in burrows, 52; how he dig§ 
his hole, 52; friendly to birds, 54. 

Monkeys and Drink, 70. 

Monkey, breaks eggs carefully, 13 ; learns 
from suffering, 14; not deceived twice 5 
15; small attacked by eagle, 65; defend- 
ed by other monkeys, 65 ; made drunken, 
70 : abstained after first case of intoxi- 
cation 71 ; washes baby's face, 91; has 
the gift of attention, S9> 

95- 



Motherly Monkeys, 90. 

Peacock, desires spectators, 30. 

Polly the Fox-Terrier, 54. 

Polly, Darwin's Fox-Terrier, 54; affection 

for her master, 55; she welcomes him 

home, 55; she plays tricks, 56. 
Porcupine, has two kinds of quills, 42; 

how quills make a noise, 43; noise of 

acts as warning, 44. 
Pot-boiling would not cook, 50. 
Puppies, learn from cats, ?§. 

Slave-Holding Ants, 24. 
Sleeping Plants, 86. 

The Conquest of the Coral, 39. 

The Dog With the Hot-House Face, 44. 

The Eagle and the Monkey, 64. 

The Magpie Marriage, ?3. 

The Porcupine's Warning Quills, 4& 

The Pot Would Not Cook, 50. 

The Singer and His Song, 66. 

The Tricky Cuckoo, 57. 

The Value of Attention, 88, 

Wooing of Katy-Did, 61. 



96 



JAN 3 1913 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 





DDQlllbH5H7 



